LearningSpring School for Autistic Students in NYC Earns LEED Gold Certification

Students who fall within the autism spectrum are often overlooked in public education. To address the problem, a group of New York City parents came together in 2001 to create the LearningSpring School, a private day school that serves 108 students in grades K-8. Thanks to the thoughtful design of Platt Byard Dovell White Architects, the students will be moving to a new eight-story, vertically oriented campus on the corner of 20th Street and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. The new school was built specifically to accomodate the needs of the children, incorporates a variety of green technologies, and has earned LEED Gold certification.

The new interior facility accommodates the specific social, physical, and educational needs of those it serves. The design is transparent and open, encouraging collaboration. Glass-enclosed stairways connect the floors and classrooms are designed in pairs so that resources can be shared in a common area between the two. Quiet alcoves can be found off the corridors throughout the building to promote informal socialization.

Materials for both the interior and exterior were carefully selected. Inside, the classrooms and hallways feature bamboo casework, cork floors which help with noise absorption, and natural wall fabrics that create a soothing learning environment. On the exterior, an aluminum and stainless steel sunscreen supported by an external steel armature protect the building from the southeast exposure to the sun. A terracotta rain-screen extends along the base of the building.

Thanks to the architects’ meticulous attention to materials and design, the building has achieved LEED Gold certification. It’s the first of its kind in New York State to achieve such a rank under the LEED For Schools program. Several distinguishing features helped the LearningSpring School gain this recognition. Every classroom enjoys neighborhood views and is filled with natural light. Energy-saving specs such as the aluminum sunshades and zinc rain screen spandrels which help minimize solar gain, operable windows for natural ventilation, low water-flow fixtures, and high-efficiency equipment for energy savings also distinguish the design. The school was also acknowledged with the AIA/CAE Educational Facility Design Award in 2011.

One thought on “LearningSpring School for Autistic Students in NYC Earns LEED Gold Certification”

My name is Rusty. I am the database and spreadsheets manager for The Global Autism Project. I am an adult with autism. I am twenty-six almost twenty-seven. I found this article interesting because when I was in public schools I always had help whenever I was unsure of how to interact with other people inside and outside of the classrooms. I also found this article interesting because public and private schools have gotten plenty of honors for all of the work that the people have done to help people with autism do well in school. I want to let all of the families here know about The Paddle. The Paddle gives people and their families and friends a chance to go kayaking; many of them for the first time in their lives. We always need new volunteers. The Paddle for Autism Awareness is taking place on Saturday August 4th from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. at Valentino Park on Coffey Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn. http://www.globalautismproject.org/